


Infected

by Kneel_to_maria



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, Virus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 00:43:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9266222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kneel_to_maria/pseuds/Kneel_to_maria
Summary: A more during than post-apocalypse au where a virus wipes out most of humanity and the animal kingdom. Thor and Loki have to find a way to stay alive, together.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for magicandmalice as a not-so-secret santa/new years/I'm just really late gift. Both boys are 23 in this fic and in their 5th year of college, they met in high school and Thor's parents work at a lab a few miles away (didn't mention these things in the fic but they're slightly relevant so there)

They were lucky. 

Lucky Thor was studying chemistry. He saw the signs before it happened. His classmates called him paranoid. 

Lucky Loki was studying medicine. He saw the signs too. His professors didn't believe anything like this could happen, surely there had been a mistake in the readings. But Loki was paranoid enough. Enough to convince Thor to leave.

They left the city before the accident. At first it appeared as if nothing was wrong. No diseases spread and nothing died. Time passed long enough for it to have transferred, for people to travel and bring it to other countries. So when the molecules began to destabilize and the symptoms started to show it was too late for a cure. 

Paranoid had saved Thor and Loki's lives as they had avoided any human contact and any buildings, making their way through the woods instead. Neither knew exactly how to describe the state of the world. It wasn't like the movies where these accidents turned people into zombies. Here the people just died. It also affected the animals and buildings, but for some reason neither could figure out it didn't spread through nature otherwise. 

What they did manage to figure out was that it didn't spread through water or air, which came as a huge relief. With the data they had both collected and the equipment they were looking for it would be, should be, possible to find a cure. Or at least find a way to make them immune and stop the virus from spreading. 

 

* * *

 

It didn't take long before they came across the first infected animal. It was a deer, limping it's way to the river they just passed. It's eyes looked haunted, black and red. It's matted fur stuck together with blood and pus coming out of the wounds on it's back. It looked horrifying. 

"Should we kill it?" Thor asked as he gripped the axe in his hand a little tighter. Since when did they have an axe? Loki couldn't remember finding one and they definitely didn't have one a few days ago. He would have to ask later. 

Loki hesitated, he didn't like having to kill. "You think it'll infect other animals if we don't?" 

"Most likely, it's headed towards the river, there were a few animals back there."

Thor was right and Loki knew it. They couldn't risk it. He was about to tell Thor to go ahead when a man stormed out of the bushes and launched himself on the deer.

"What the-" Thor stuck his arm in front of Loki to protect him. Both watched in horror as the man began to disembowel the animal in a blind rage, only stopping when he was completely covered in blood and the deer had stopped moving all-together. 

That's when he noticed Thor and Loki standing a few meters away. "This deer infected my entire family." He rasped at them. "Ran into my son by accident in the woods yesterday." 

Loki wanted to tell the man that that was impossible, given any infected being only lasted less than 24 hours, but given the man's apparent anger and bloodlust he wisely kept his mouth shut. Who cared if it was a different deer. 

As the man seemed to calm down the realization of what he had done became apparent on his face. First surprise, then horror as he was completely covered in the deer's insides. There was no way he wasn't infected. Thor had started to push him boyfriend back slowly, not trusting the man at all. 

"We'd best be on our way." He said as he nodded at Loki to leave. The man only nodded in response, his skin had already begun to darken. 

"I wish you two more luck than I had." He managed to get out before Thor and Loki left his view. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, occasionally looking over their shoulders to make sure the man wasn't somehow following. 

It was Thor who broke the silence first. "So, no killing them then."

"Not if it risks getting blood and whatever the other stuff is on you. You heard him, a deer only came in contact with his son, so whatever the skin produces when infected is toxic." Loki mused. "But it's not transmittable through water, so there must be something in the water that stabilizes the toxins." 

"I guess I'll have to get better at throwing this axe, so I can kill them from a distance." Thor frowned.

"Yeah, I meant to ask, where did you find that? You did't have it yesterday."

Thor shrugged. "I found it stuck in a log somewhere by the river. Whoever it belonged to must have been too tied up in other business to reclaim it." 

"I suppose so. How much further to the research facility?" 

"I'm guessing two more days. It's not that far."

It had been the first thing they'd discussed when they decided to leave. 

"If we're going to run, we better find a way to make a cure otherwise it's going to be useless anyway." Thor had said. 

Loki didn't entirely agree. A life spent with Thor and Thor alone didn't sound too bad to him. But that was selfish thinking, something he couldn't afford right now. Instead he brought up the old medical facility near the woods that had been closed a few years ago. Thor remembered it too. Sure, the equipment wouldn't be the newest but it also wouldn't carry any traces of the virus. 

They had packed all the essentials and Loki had checked twice to make sure they wouldn't forget something and then they had began their trip through the forest. Collecting and researching as much as possible had taken them three weeks, they were just in time to escape the populated world and flee when the isotopes became unstable.

For all the panic Loki had been feeling about the virus he felt strangely at ease knowing he was going to have Thor to rely on. It sounded almost... nice, a little camping trip through the forest before they would start their research for a cure. 

It was of course everything but nice, considering Loki actually really didn't like camping, especially when there were infected animals on the loose, but the idea calmed him down anyway. Thor had a way of doing that. He only hoped he had some good influences on Thor too. Best not to dwell on it.

* * *

 

 

Yes, Loki really didn't like camping trips, he decided again after the rain had drenched him completely. 

"Remind me why we're walking instead of taking your car?" Loki knew of course, but he wanted to hear Thor say it anyway. He just wanted to hear his voice so he had something else to focus on besides all his clothes clinging uncomfortably to his body. 

"Because we needed to see what the virus did in the wild. See infected animals on the way, maybe even take a sample." Thor explained again, showing no sign of annoyance at having to do so despite Loki knowing why. Instead he chuckled. "What I don't understand is why you didn't bring an umbrella. You checked everything twice." 

"It wasn't supposed to rain." Loki simply grumbled. 

It was almost getting dark again and they'd have to set up camp soon. There would obviously not be a campfire and the thought that wild animals would not be scared away now bothered Loki. He said so to Thor who nodded in agreement. 

"We'll just have to take turns then." He smiled as he clapped his boyfriend on the back.

"How you are so calm and collected about everything is beyond me." Loki smiled back. 

"Eh, worrying isn't going to solve anything. Sure, I think about it all too, I just try not to let it affect me too much." 

Loki wished he could do that too. 

"Any word from your parents yet?" That seemed to dampen Thor's mood and Loki instantly wanted to take the question back. 

"No, not yet. But like you said they probably fled when the virus spread and are without reception." Thor checked his phone again just in case. 

Neither of them really believed it but they could never be 100% sure. Thor's parents were clever, much like their son, and it wouldn't be impossible that they managed to escape the virus after all. Besides, they had answered before the virus, when Thor called to warn them. 

Loki just hoped for the best, it was all he could do. He really liked Frigga too. He would be heartbroken if something happened to her. He was still getting used to Odin but even so he had a lot of respect for the man and didn't want him getting hurt either. 

"Yeah. Let's just hope for the best." He managed to sound optimistic but his heart wasn't in it and he couldn't fool Thor anymore anyways. Still, it was better than giving up.

"Loki?" Thor whispered, squinting around in the darkness. It had been Thor's turn to sleep but that hadn't lasted long. He kept up appearances for his boyfriend but truthfully he was panicking just as much. 

If the fact that the world was dying wasn't enough to worry about the silence from his parents disturbed him even more. He wanted to believe they were ok, he really did, but he wasn't that much of an optimist. Not that he could do much else. If they were alive they would find a way to reach them. He did believe that. So maybe waiting really was the key here. 

Waiting didn't help him get enough sleep however and he would rather give Loki some more, he needed it too. 

"Yeah?" Came his reply from the dark, Thor could barely make out the shape of the tree he was sitting against. 

"I can't sleep, do you want to get some more hours?" 

Loki chuckled softly. "I don't think I'm going to be any more successful. It stopped raining though. Do you want to build a campfire? Dry our clothes and hope against hope that we don't get a cold?"

Thor had to laugh at that. He was glad he had Loki with him in this situation. Going through everything alone would have torn him apart and he loved Loki to pieces anyway. Loki was smart, funny and resourceful. Of course he could also be really snappy and sometimes mean but Thor didn't care. If you love someone you love them and their flaws. 

"A campfire sounds nice, yeah." 

They gathered the wood as quickly as possible and had the fire started within minutes. The scene really didn't fit in with the world, their clothes neatly piled around the fire, far enough not to risk them burning up, and the boys huddled together in a fresh set of clothes with some blankets thrown over their shoulders. It seemed almost cozy. If they could forget the virus or the man earlier maybe it would be. 

They didn't need to talk. Sitting together was enough. They were comfortable sitting in each others silence. It was a mutual understanding. Their subjects were limited anyway, no more talk about college, or friends, or parents. The future was unsure and reality too painful. Quiet seemed to be gentler. 

* * *

 

When they reached the facility it was locked, of course, so Thor's axe finally came in useful. Despite the building being out of use for a few years it didn't look old. The only notable difference was the dust that had settled on everything. Other than that the whole place seemed to be in perfect state. 

"Shall we split up and see what kind of rooms there are? Check the equipment and such?" Thor asked as they entered.  

Loki nodded. "Let's dump our stuff in a room first, these things are heavy and if I can avoid carrying them any longer I will." 

They came across quite a few useful rooms. Almost all the machines still worked when they tested them, which was something they were extremely happy about. Now they had at least some chance at finding something close to a cure. 

After the initial shock faded they quickly found a nice working pace. Two weeks in and they managed go capture an infected animal without touching it for research. Thor had caught it by setting a trap for rabbits. 

He had intended to use it for hunting, given their supply of foods was going go run out some time soon. The rabbit that found itself unlucky enough to be trapped had been infected however. Loki was beyond ecstatic that they got to sample the virus now. With great care of course. Thor didn't think one could protect himself more than Loki did. 

The process was slow however as the machines were slightly outdated and took longer than the ones they had worked with before. Still, it worked. They had samples and data. They would work it out. 

 

* * *

 

After three weeks all the food they had brought had run out so they were forced to go back to the house and get more. The camping trip back was much less scary. Loki did find out that animals tended to avoid infected ones so after that they didn't worry about killing them and simply walked around them. 

After they had gathered enough supplies from the house they took the car back to the facility. There was no need to watch the animals anymore, they knew enough already. 

Initially Thor had wanted to go to the house alone so Loki could continue the research and watch all their stuff. Not that Loki would ever agree because he absolutely refused to leave Thor's side. He was way too worried something might happen to him alone in that forest. 

It was a good thing Loki had come too because when they drove through the town to reach the main road they stumbled upon something they didn't expect to see.

"Thor, are those- is that?" Loki started, not sure if he was seeing what he was seeing. 

"I believe so." 

It was a small group of people. One of them however, was infected. But as if the other didn't see it they just walked with her and touched her. Thor and Loki watched the scene for a while until curiosity got the better of them. Thor parked the car and they both got out.

"Excuse me," Thor approached the group "I don't mean to be rude, but how come you can all touch her without anything happening?" 

"Oh, you must've been away for quite a while ey?" A guy spoke up. He motioned for the group to continue without him, probably because the subject had to be sensitive for the girl. "The intensity of the virus has dropped. It takes longer for people to die now and after a while the virus isn't transmittable anymore. So nothing to worry about here."

She did seem a lot different from the people they had seen so far. Her skin was more in tact and her eyes hadn't started to color red yet. 

"How long before they die?" Loki wanted to know.

"I'd say about a week now. It's slowly getting longer. Our other friend lasted 4 days." 

"And how long before they're safe to touch?" Thor chimed in.

"Around 4 days. It's half the time they have left after they get infected I think. I'd take another day to be sure." 

Loki nodded, already deep in thought. "Thank you." 

"No problem." And with that the guy ran back to his group.

"That's fascinating." Loki turned to Thor. "And fortunate. Maybe the human race won't die out after all. But what about the animals?" 

"Maybe we just didn't notice. It's not like the other animals would know about how transmittable something is. They just see something is wrong and avoid it." 

"Yeah I guess you're right. Well, let's head back. Our stuff is still unprotected and all." 

 

* * *

 

They didn't make much progress after that. Data enough but they weren't any closer to a cure. It was quite disheartening. Weeks went by without anything exciting. They captured animals, took blood samples, ran tests and tried to make cures. Nothing worked. But they hadn't ran out of options yet. 

It was 2 months later when something finally happened. Loki had been working on one of their last options for a cure. Not that it mattered much of course, the virus had almost died and almost nobody got infected anymore. This was simply a precaution. 

He was emerged in his work for most of the day and only when the time to eat came around did he notice Thor hadn't returned from the hunt yet. An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. It wasn't like Thor to be late for dinner. 

Loki quickly put everything aside and made his way to the room they used for cooking. It was empty. Now he was getting really worried. 

"Thor?" He called but he received no answer. 

He checked their sleeping room, the bathroom and the rooms Thor usually worked in. Nothing. Almost frantically he stormed out of the front door, ready to look for Thor in the woods even though he didn't know which way to go. He didn't have to go far because as soon as he stepped outside he saw Thor sitting in a log at the edge of the forest. 

Feeling immensely relieved Loki walked up to him until he noticed Thor looked different. His pants had tears in them and there were some suspicious red stains everywhere. With a dawning realization Loki noticed it was blood. 

"Thor?" He just managed to get out. "Please tell me you fell and hurt yourself with that." 

Thor slowly looked up. His eyes brimming with tears. "I'm afraid not, Lo." 

Loki gasped. He wanted to hug his boyfriend but Thor held his hand out to stop him. "You know it's not safe. Loki, keep your distance." 

Keep his distance? Did Thor really think he cared about that? If Thor was going to die Loki had nothing left. He would be alone in a world that was half dead already. No friends, no family. Thor was his everything. He was about to tell Thor when the blonde interrupted him. 

"We still have some options for the cure left. You should try those. Use my blood if you must, but I will stay outside. I do not want to infect you as well." Thor sounded sure. As if he had thought about this already. How long had he been sitting here? 

"Thor, what happened?" Loki was near crying now that his brain had finally fully caught up with the situation. 

"I-" Thor rubbed his temples, "I was looking for the traps I set for the rabbits and I didn't pay attention to the ground. I, ehm, I tripped over a branch I think and the- the trap went open when I fell on it, the rabbit must have been infected not long ago. I was bleeding and he hopped right by me. I wasn't fast enough. Couldn't pull away anymore. It's blood came in contact with mine." 

Loki sank to his knees. This couldn't be happening. Not to Thor. It should have been _him_  dammit! This wasn't fair. 

"Loki?" Thor sounded concerned. "We can still fix this. We have two options left, one of them has to work right?"

"One, Thor." Loki felt numb now. Already? Yes, he supposed it was his body helping him focus. "We only have one option left. It's our only hope." 

 

* * *

 

They had three weeks until Thor would be gone. Eleven days until he could touch Thor again without being infected himself. Not that he cared, but Thor had begged him to stay alive.  

Loki had opened the back door too. He was not letting Thor sleep outside and because he couldn't stay inside the rooms where they ran the tests he would have to stay in the section they didn't use. 

Loki went back to work almost immediately. Never had he been so concentrated. He made sure to triple check every measurement and kept his hands as still as possible. 

Evenings became the hardest time. He brought food to Thor on disposable plates, they didn't know if saliva transmitted the virus too or not. They sat together in the dimly lit room as they ate and talked about nothing. 

While silence had been comfortable earlier, it was suffocating now. Loki wanted to hear Thor's voice, as much as possible. He wanted to spend every second he wasn't working on the cure with him. 

Looking at Thor killed him. He looked sick. His skin had darkened, his eyes became red. Thor's condition seemed worse than the girl's they had seen all those weeks ago. His health was declining faster than Loki had expected.

Nights were the worst. They didn't sleep in the same room anymore and Loki found himself awake most nights, missing Thor's arms around him and his heartbeat lulling him to sleep. He wondered if Thor had any more luck. Loki hoped he did, it would be better for his body to get some rest. 

The next few days seemed to rush by without Loki's permission. Thor got worse and all Loki could do was wait for the machines to finish. He found himself silently begging them to make this work. 

Not being able to work did give him the time to take care of Thor. He made his favourite foods, even driving into town and breaking in in an abandoned supermarket. He looked for the things that wouldn't expire so fast. It wasn't much but every little thing he could do to make Thor happier he would do. 

Before he knew it eleven days had passed. They tested Thor's state on a rat first, Thor still didn't want to take any risks. Loki secretly wished he hadn't listened to Thor. He much preferred to go together, but he just couldn't say no to him. 

When it became clear Loki couldn't be infected anymore he immediately flung himself at Thor, wrapping his arms around him tightly and burying his face in Thor's neck. He wondered if his grip hurt Thor but his boyfriend made no sound of protest so he simply let that thought slide. 

Within seconds both of them were crying.

"It's going to be ok, Lo. I know it is. I can feel it." Thor had started to rub circles on his back. 

Loki couldn't help a small laugh. "Why- why are you comforting me? You're the one that's sick." 

Thor kissed Loki's forehead. "I know, but you're the one that had to live through it." 

"Not if I off myself afterwards." Loki murmured into Thor's shoulder. 

Thor immediately pulled him off him and took his face in his hands. That was the most stern look Thor had ever given him. "Don't. You. Dare. Loki, you are going to live and you are going to be great. You have to. I sincerely believe the world needs you. Promise me you'll live."

Dammit. Why did Thor have to do this. Didn't he understand Loki didn't want to go on without him? And why couldn't he say no to Thor? It was driving him insane. 

"I promise." 

"Good." Thor sealed their promise with a kiss. 

 

* * *

 

  
They had eleven more days. The possible cure should be done in seven. Seven days to spend every second together, for there was nothing else to do. Luckily they had enough food around so neither of them had to leave to hunt or raid the supermarket again. Loki had proposed to go back to their home to spend the last week, but Thor didn't feel well enough to travel. 

So they stayed in the facility. To lighten the mood Loki had gathered all the pillows and mattresses and built a fort out of them, surprising Thor. 

"If we're going to stay here, we're going to make the best of it." Loki smiled. 

They didn't do much more than cuddle and kiss. Thor didn't have the energy anymore to do anything else. Loki wouldn't have minded if it had been any other situation. He loved spending time in Thor's arms. He always felt safe there. But there was a constant worry stopping him from enjoying it that much. If the cure failed... 

"Stop thinking." Thor pulled him out of his mind. "Worrying doesn't help. If the cure doesn't work you'll be happy we spent this time enjoying each others company. Just relax." 

"Wish I could." Loki sighed. Tomorrow they would know. Either Thor would be saved or Loki would lose his mind. He was stressed beyond belief. 

The last few hours before the machines were ready seemed to pass quickly yet slow. To Loki they felt like days but he still wished they had more time. 

When the familiar beeping of the machines could be heard Loki felt like throwing up. This was their last chance. Thor almost couldn't walk anymore, he was getting worse really fast now. 

With shaking hands Loki put the fluid in a syringe. Thor was waiting for him in the bathroom. They had a device set up to check the status of his blood so they could see the effects.

Not a word was said as Loki drew some of Thor's blood and added the substance. Loki held his breath as they both watched what happened to it. 

The molecules of the substance mixed with the infected blood cells. Slowly the color changed. Some more seconds ticked by and Loki held Thor's hand. Now the blood ha to change back to normal. The watched the screens and...

 

nothing happened. 

"No." Loki whispered. "No, that can't be!" 

"Loki."

"We have to try again."

"Loki."

"Surely something just went wrong." 

"Loki!" Loki stopped moving. "Lo, it just doesn't work." 

The world seemed to stop around him. He felt himself getting up. 

"I... I need a moment. I'll be right back." Before Thor could protest he was out of the room and made his way to their bedroom to cry. He grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly, trying without success to calm his breathing. 

This couldn't be happening. This was a nightmare. He would wake up in their home soon, wrapped in Thor's arms. Thor would be healthy, Thor would be ok. No. No, Thor was not ok, he was dying and Loki was going to be alone. He couldn't do this, he couldn't do this.

Thor's phone began to ring, startling Loki out of his thoughts. Not once had anyone tried to contact them. At this point it could be anyone calling Thor to look for human life. With sweaty palms he picked up the device and looked at the screen.

_Frigga._

"Hello?" His voice was shaking more than ever.

"Loki." He heard a gasp of relief. "Darling, we found an antidote."

**Author's Note:**

> AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. Loki tells Thor and he proposed on the spot yay. Idk I wanted to end the fic where I did but I also wanted to tell you what I think happens afterwards.


End file.
